In my endless surfing of the interwebs, I came across this intriguing piece from fellow Patch'er Kelly Smith down in Southern California. She's allowed me to re-post it here. Enjoy...
If you are frustrated by power outages and rising electric bills and feel like you wish you could ditch your utility, you're not alone. Turns out 76% of consumers don't trust their utility, according to a recent report by Accenture. A few highlights from the report:
- Less than one-fourth of consumers trust their utility — 9 percent below last year's figure.
- Globally, customer satisfaction is 46 percent — a drop of 12 percentage in the past year.
Greentech Media discusses this intersection, its implications, and the report in more detail here. The GTM article includes a statement from Greg Guthridge of Accenture Energy Consumer Services that sums it up quite well: utilities need to start "providing a level of customer service many have never had to provide before."
If dissatisfaction continues, customers will not standby and settle for the status quo. For example, consumers in Arizona descended on the State Capitol recently to oppose a tax that Arizona Public Service (APS) has proposed for solar customers. The APS solar tax would add about $50-$100 each month to solar customers' bills. APS is trying to end net metering, a policy that gives rooftop solar customers full retail credit for the energy they put back on the grid.
California's investor-owned utilities (IOU's) like PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE are also trying to end net metering. They want to stop the expansion of competitive rooftop solar to protect their profits. At the same time, voters want net metering and rooftop solar. A recent poll supported by Californians Against Utilities Stopping Solar Energy (CAUSE) shows that 80% of Latinos in Southern California believe “state legislators should make it a high priority to increase the amount of rooftop solar energy in California.” It also found that 70% support California’s net energy metering law.
If consumer satisfaction is low and consumers want rooftop solar and net metering, it looks like utility monopolies like the California IOU's will need start to change their tune.
You can read more of Kelly's posts on her Woodland Hills Patch blog.
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